Cyber Platform

Last week, the incident of kidnapping involving the Orekoya children at Surulere area of Lagos, brought into focus the issue of regulation of online classifieds.The children were reported to have been kidnapped by a maid, (Funmilayo Adeyemi) who was hired through a classified advertisement placed on an online classified platform, OLX.com.ng.

WE, Nigerians, are proud people. We are people who work hard, and also, if you like, play hard. We love the good things of life and we all work hard to attain them. Those who found the home environment too limiting found expression in foreign lands and are doing well. We also love the best things money can buy — clothes, shoes, mobile phones, computers, furniture, and, of course, cars. As a result, men like to wear suits from designers like Gucci, Prada, Saint-Laurent, Brooks Brothers and Marks & Spencer. Still, others prefer bespoke suits from Gieves & Hawkes of London, or Caraceni of Milan.

THE movie and music industry in our country is a unique one that I find difficult to understand with the passing of each day. To borrow a cliche, it is one industry where the monkey works and the baboon makes away with the proceeds of the monkey’s work, leaving the monkey high and dry, left only to scrape from the peelings of the banana discarded after the baboon has had its fill.

In the United Arab Emirates where I was on assignment, I got a surprise. Last year when I was there for the International Telecommunications Union, ITU summit, I bought an Etisalat SIM card which I used while there to communicate both locally, and with family and colleagues in Nigeria. Getting back there September, the SIM was no longer provisioned. Absent-mindedly I switched on my other handset which had a Glo SIM in it, and in minutes, a message came in from a telecoms firm by the name, du. Although Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company is its legal name, it was commercially rebranded du in February 2006.

MORE than three years ago in June 2010, the Adams Oshiomhole administration in Edo State somewhat confounded the entire nation when it launched a citizens registration and identity card project. The launch of that initiative was the high point of the Edo Technology Day which held at the Oba Akenzua Cultural Centre in Benin City.

MORE than three years ago in June 2010, the Adams Oshiomhole administration in Edo State somewhat confounded the entire nation when it launched a citizens registration and identity card project. The launch of that initiative was the high point of the Edo Technology Day which held at the Oba Akenzua Cultural Centre in Benin City.

FOR those who read this column, I wish to recommend that the main story on the page preceding this be read first, and recall previous outings of this column on this issue, which is that of realistically jump-starting the Nigerian economy and kicking it, screaming like a new born-baby into the 21st century.

Wikipedia defines a celebrity as a person who has a prominent profile and commands some degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media. While many attain celebrity status as a result of their great work, in other cases, people become celebrities due to media attention.

WITH the continued explosion in service offerings powered by ICT, it is little wonder that devices of all nature from all nations are finding their ways into Nigeria, and the market, unguarded, unprotected, even largely undiscerning gobbles them up, turning anonymous start-ups into instant millionaires in their countries.

EARLY this month, the global finals of the Microsoft Imagine Cup held in St. Petersburg, Russia. Like in previous editions, Nigeria qualified after national finals threw up Team LifeSaver, comprising four students from two universities — Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso. The four students — Afolabi Olamide, Oluwole Michael, Akinlaja Solomon and Adewale Adeyinka — had competed in the national finals in the category of World Citizenship.

I wish to round up discourse on the possibilities of Lagos being a smart city within the shortest possible time. Of course, it can be seen that a lot of obstacles abound in the realization of this ideal, but personally I like to look at the sunny side of things. If there are issues, they should be tackled but nothing should be allowed to detract from set objectives.

THIS is the third in stalment of a series begun a month ago on the above subject. The discourse began after a team from ICT transnational, IBM, presented a proposal the Lagos State Government on how a more efficient traffic flow can be achieved in the metropolis.

A fortnight ago discourse began in this column on the above subject matter. I could not continue last week due to space constraints; the serial of Chris Uwaje’s column, which dwelt on a similar subject matter as it concerns air transport infrastructure took precedence. I now return to the issue.

I AM constantly amazed at the advances in information and communication technology, such that inventions and innovations being celebrated this week may become near-obsolete the following week as an even better option might have been developed.